Thanks to a goal from Kylian Mbappé, Paris Saint-Germain qualified on Wednesday for the final of the Coupe de France (1-0).
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There was a nostalgic atmosphere at the Parc des Princes this Wednesday, April 3. This memory, hammered home in recent days, of a final of this same competition delighted by the Rennais five years earlier. And then the reminder that the National Cup has escaped the Parisians twice, for a club which is nevertheless the biggest winner (14). Against Rennes, in the semi-finals, Paris Saint-Germain offered themselves the chance to believe in a fifteenth trophy, thanks to a goal from Kylian Mbappé (1-0). They will meet Olympique Lyonnais, winners of Valenciennes, in the final.
A match that turns into a face-to-face between Mandanda and Mbappé
Luis Enrique’s players, however, came across a great Steve Mandanda, who, for a time, dashed Parisian hopes. And in particular those of Kylian Mbappé, while the meeting took on the air of a duel between the two players. Launched from deep in the 12th minute, the French striker saw his shot slightly deflected onto the crossbar by the opposing goalkeeper. Second act around twenty minutes later, while PSG obtained a penalty after a jersey pull by Warmed Omari on Mbappé: the former Marseillais chose the right side, to his right, to prevent his former teammate in Blue from open the scoring (37th).
Impressive in this Cup evening, the Rennes goalkeeper kept his team afloat for a long time (53rd, 58th, 79th), but he was unable to do anything, cruelly, on this strike from Kylian Mbappé, slightly deflected by Omari, to beat your own goalkeeper (1-0, 40th). In a match where the Parisians had control of the game – 70% possession – Julien Stéphan’s players first presented a compact unit, before showing themselves to be more dangerous at the end of the match, as evidenced by this header from Arnaud Kalimuendo (67th) just above Gianluigi Donnarumma’s cage.
The Parisian goalkeeper also spoke at the end of the meeting with his Rennes counterpart. “He’s a great goalkeeper.he recalled on the microphone of Bein Sports. Congratulations on his career and everything he did tonight.” Asked about upcoming meetings, he insisted on slowing down the pace. “We think match after match, we will think about Clermont (Saturday 6)and after Barcelona (Wednesday 10). It’s the team’s priority.” Once these dates have passed, there will remain May 25, at Pierre-Mauroy, for a Coupe de France final against the Lyonnais.